March 5, 2013 // 9:49 pm - Lab Zero Games CEO Peter Bartholow unveiled a new Skullgirls update today which includes a free character and stage with details below.

To quote: Last week, Lab Zero Games, the new developer of Skullgirls, started an Indiegogo campaign to keep the game growing with the addition of new characters.

The results have simply blown us away – our amazing fans raised $150,000 to fund Squigly, our first DLC character, in under 24 hours. And now, a week later, we've more than doubled that and are well on our way to funding a second character.

So sometime this summer, all owners of Skullgirls will be able to download Squigly free! Not only will you get this awesome, parasite-infested opera singer to play with, you'll also get her story mode and a new stage.

In addition to Squigly's stage, we'll also be developing a new stage, the River King Casino, that will be also be released free. Check out this early concept sketch:

I did say it was early. But in the coming weeks, you'll see that rough sketch turn into a beautiful, hand-painted 3D stage.

In addition to an all-new track by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night composer, Michiru Yamane, this stage will feature our "Patron Saint" contributors' likenesses or original characters enjoying themselves in this swanky establishment.

With Squigly out of the way, we're now funding Big Band, Skullgirls' first male character.

If you'd like to see this brassy, armless fighting machine come to fruition, please consider contributing to the campaign. Not only can you help keep the game growing, you can also get some exclusive Skullgirls swag for your efforts, including the soundtrack, a poster, a T-shirt and more.

And if we manage to fund a third character? He or she will be picked by fan vote. We've already revealed fifteen future characters for the vote, a few of which you can see here.

And this is less than a quarter of all the characters we'll be revealing before all is said and done!

Lab Zero Games is committed to being as transparent as business will allow, and we really want to show you how games are made. From concept to final execution, be it a character, stage or music track, every step of the process will be shown to you.

So in the end, it's about more than just participating in making Skullgirls even better and getting your name in the credits, it's about learning about what goes into making a game.

And, finally, in addition to continuing to make new characters and content, we'll continue to refine the existing game. The first Skullgirls patch introduced a huge number of improvements and balance fixes, and we intend to keep refining and balancing the game to make it the best and most beautiful 2D fighter out there.

So look forward to Skullgirls growing soon! And if you don't have it already, I hope you'll check out the demo and see why our fans are so passionate about the game. Thanks for reading!